Welcome to my new Blog; Interactivity in the Classroom. I have designed this blog as a forum in which to discuss trends in student outcomes and learning as it pertains to interactivity in the classroom. Technological tools for education are growing at phenomenal rates so which ones are worth exploring? Which ones have been proven to enhance engagement? Which ones truly have an effect on student learning and how do we establish benchmarks for measuring such outcomes? Let's take Blogging for example; it has been written that "instructional blogging offers additional opportunities to engage students and extend the virtual classroom" (Glogoff, 2001). The interactive nature of the Blog allows for additional anonymity and often helps to create a safe environment for students to express their ideas, whereas they may be hesitant to do so in person. In this blog I would like to share ideas on how to use the multitude of tools available to increase interactivity among teachers and students.

Glogoff, S. 2001. Virtual connections: Community bonding on the net. First Monday 6 (3).
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue6_3/glogoff/index.html (accessed June 1, 2005).